Sean Durkin: Art for All!
York Fine Arts is delighted to present ‘Sean Durkin: Art for All!’, its third annual solo exhibition of original paintings by British contemporary artist Sean Durkin. Brimming with grit and wry humour, Sean’s work shines a light on Britain’s industrial past and its proud working communities. His interests lie in the collective struggles and merrymaking of ordinary people, readjusting the viewer’s gaze and rightly offering the myriad pleasure of fine art back, into the hands of all.
- Detail from ‘Grit and Grind’. Oil on panel.
- ‘Gather by Moonlight’. Oil on panel.
- ‘Bile Beans’. Oil on panel.
Though grounded in the realities of industrial life, Sean’s paintings are characterized by a sense of playfulness, and a lightness of heart. While droves of ‘matchstick people’ trudge through worlds of imposing, brutalist shapes, mischief-making characters are ever-present, their foils and playful feats of irony unfolding for the observant onlooker.
Sean’s work echoes the now infamous tale of how as a small boy, he once came face to face with a stolen L.S Lowry painting on his very own mantlepiece. ‘Borrowed’ by his father from the local gallery under cover of darkness, the painting was held ransom in the family home with a letter of conditions for its safe return. Among a host of spirited stipulations, including the installation of a better gallery alarm system and the raffling of the Lord Mayor’s underpants for charity, Sean’s father demanded that the art gallery open on a Sunday, so that the working man had leisure to visit. It may have been a sensational stunt, but the message, like that of Sean’s work was clear: Art is for all.
Gallery Director Philip Short says,
“Sean masterfully resurrects and honours tales of British heritage with wit, warmth and a generous sense of community pride. To collect his work is to share in that heritage, paying homage to the past while celebrating the reach and bearing of contemporary art in the here and now.”
From the earliest days of his career, Sean Durkin has captivated the art world with his atmospheric scenes of working life and intriguing character portraits. Having gained a loyal and ever-growing following, his work has become some of the most popular and sought-after contemporary art collected in the UK today. With paintings now hanging in public and private collections across the country, it is with delicious irony that Sean’s work is now displayed in the prestigious Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, next to the very L.S. Lowry painting his father stole all those years ago.
The exhibition opens at York Fine Arts on Friday, 4th of October and runs until Sunday, 27th of October.